INDIA: MONKS, TRIBES & RHINOS VI

Posted January 20, 2008

We were up by 6am and walked down to the market… grabbed a hot masala chai and paranta to warm us up. After walking through more windy streets we finally came up on acres of paddy fields where we saw the Apatani tribal people (distinguishable by their facial tattoos and nose plugs) going about their daily work harvesting bamboo and rice.

After at least 10km of walking through fields and the market place, we returned to the hotel, took a welcome hot shower, more food and ready for the afternoon. Never in our wildest dreams could we have guessed what was coming next.

Looking for a village by the name of Toku, We took a wrong turn and ended up driving into a village called Hija, a place time has forgotten. Surrounded by a labyrinth of houses made of bamboo, ornate with tribal decorations, onlooking villagers looked on at us in happy bewilderment. A woman by the name of ‘Muni’ who spoke broken Hindi called out to us asking if we wanted to see their houses from the inside. Not hesitating we entered the first house with her, where an old Apatani lady was sitting by a fire in the middle of the room heating up a pot of tea. We gladly accepted a cup of tea and listened on as Muni explained more about Apatani traditions and showed us the tools and containers used to collect grain, rice and bamboo. These people may live a simple life and have little money, but their houses were incredibly spacious, tidy and organised. Although when I asked to use the toilet, I never expected to have to share it with a pig and cockerels!

Muni had an incredibly infectious personality and she seemed all too excited to invite foreigners into an Apatani home and promptly paraded us in front of her friends, took us to many other houses and the paddy fields. We must have spent some 3 hours in Hija and we were speechless afterwards. We felt utterly privileged and humbled. We have both travelled and experienced a lot, but nothing comes close to this. Absolutely nothing.

-Dave

After yesterday’s excitement, today we visited some more Apatani villages in ziro valley – namely Hari, Haja and Reru. The houses were similar to those from Hija, though not quite as uniform and we did not get an invite inside today. The villages were quieter during the day as most people were out cutting wood or working in the fields.

The locals were friendly nonetheless and those kids that were learning English in school were very keen to try theirs out. Some of the flooded Paddy fields were covered in a red algae-like plant, that contrasted with the backdrop of lush green bamboo and pine forests shrouded in rising mists.

Further along the route we met a guy who claimed to be the general secretary of the region (we later found out he was no longer in the position), who jumped in the jeep to show us some local sights. He talked manically, gesticulating wildly, bursting in to song sporadically… he was plainly quite mad, but very amusing. After a lunch of paratha and potato curry followed by masala tea in a roadside cafe, we turned back for Ziro. Tomorrow we head on to Daporijo, the start of the Tagin tribe region, passing through Hill Miri territory.

– David

This blog is part of an Off-The-Beaten-Track Travel Diary. Click on the links below to navigate through this journey.